Portable medication management system

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a medication management system for use with a programmable mobile device, such as a cell phone, smart phone, or a tablet computer. The invention consists of a case that encases or attaches to the mobile device, with a pill container attached to the case, and software for execution by the mobile device to manage the use of medication, generally in the form of pills, by the user of the mobile device. The pill container slideably engages the case so that doses of pills in the container may be removed by sliding the container out far enough to expose the next dose of pills and turning the mobile device and case over. The software allows the user to program a dosing schedule into it and then alerts the user when it is time to take doses of pills.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to medication management systems, and more particularly to portable medication management systems using programmable mobile devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Poor medication adherence is widely recognized as a significant source of waste in health care systems. Poor adherence to a dosing regimen can lead to worsening of disease and cause serious health problems.

Many devices have been disclosed to assist a user with maintaining a dosing regimen. Most of these are non-portable units for use in a user's residence.

Some portable devices have also been disclosed that include a timekeeping device having a processor and a display associated with a medicine or pill container. Some of these are referred to as “electronic pill bottles”. Although such devices may be effective when a user brings them along when he or she goes outside of the user's residence, it is easy for a user to forget to bring along the device, in which case it is of no use while the user is away from the residence.

This problem has been recognized and systems have been disclosed that can be programmed to record a user's dosage regimen and automatically contact the user by cell phone or internet and instruct the user to take medication as required by the regimen. While users are generally conditioned to carry their cell phone or other internet-enabled device with them, such systems require that they also remember to bring all the medications with them that they will require during the period they are away from their residence. Particularly in the case of people taking multiple medications, it is possible that they will forget to bring one of more of their medications on any given trip away from their residence, so that it may be more difficult for them to comply with the dosing instructions provided by such reminder systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a medication management system for managing the use of pills by a user of a programmable mobile device, the mobile device having a display, the system comprising:

-   -   a. a case for the programmable mobile device;     -   b. a pill container attached to the case for holding doses of         pills; and     -   c. software for execution by the mobile device to manage the use         of the pills by the user.

The software running on the mobile device may cause the mobile device to alert the user when it is time to take a dose of pills held in the pill container. Alerting the user may comprise displaying a message on the display of the mobile device indicating which dose of pills held in the pill container the user should take. The software may render on the display a menu to request that the user confirm that the dose of pills has been taken.

The software running on the mobile device may allow the user to program a dosing schedule into the software and the software may then cause the mobile device to alert the user when it is time to take a dose of pills held in the pill container according to the dosing schedule.

The mobile device may be a cell phone, smart phone, multimedia phone, or tablet computer.

The pill container has a top side corresponding to a side of the mobile device having the display, and the pill container may comprise a plurality of compartments, each compartment being adapted to hold a dose of pills and having an opening on the top side to allow the user to place pills in the compartments and remove pills from the compartments.

Each dose of pills may comprise at least one pill containing a medicament.

The pill container may slideably engage the case so that the pill container may be slid away from the case to expose one dose of pills when at least one compartment contains a dose of pills.

Each compartment may be coded and, when it is time for the user to take a dose of pills, the software may render on the display a representation of the compartments and their coding, with an indication of which compartment the dose of pills is to be taken from. Each compartment may be color-coded.

The software may display an indication of the status of each compartment on the display upon request of the user.

The mobile device may have an orientation sensor for determining that the pill container has been moved so that the openings of the compartments are oriented downward, and the software may then automatically render on the display a menu to request that the user confirm that the dose of pills has been taken.

The user may use the invention by loading the software onto the mobile device, placing the mobile device in the case, programming a dosing schedule into the software, filling the pill container according to the dosing schedule, removing a dose of pills indicated by the software from the pill container, taking the dose of pills, and confirming to the software by pressing a button shown on the display that the dose of pills has been taken, or by any subset of the preceding actions.

The invention also provides a method of using a medication management system for managing the use of pills by a user of a programmable mobile device, the mobile device having a display, the system comprising:

-   -   a. a case for the programmable mobile device;     -   b. a pill container attached to the case for holding doses of         pills; and     -   c. software for execution by the mobile device to manage the use         of the pills by the user,

the software having been loaded onto the mobile device, the mobile device having been placed into the case, the method comprising the steps of:

-   -   d. programming a dosing schedule into the software;     -   e. filling the pill container with doses of pills according to         the dosing schedule;     -   f. removing a dose of pills indicated by the software from the         pill container;     -   g. taking the indicated dose of pills; and     -   h. confirming to the software by pressing a button shown on the         display that the dose of pills has been taken.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the top side of a preferred embodiment of the invention including a case with a slideably attached pill container with the container pulled out from the case to expose three compartments in the pill container.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the top side of a preferred embodiment of the invention including a case with a slideably attached pill container with the container pulled out to show three compartments in the pill container.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the top side of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing a screen of a mobile device displaying instructions generated by software to take a dose of pills contained in one of the compartments.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottom or back side of a preferred embodiment of the invention including a case with a slideably attached pill container with the container partially pulled out from the case.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the top side of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing a screen of a mobile device displaying instructions generated by software to take a dose of pills contained in one of the compartments and showing the status of the other compartments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is a medication management system for use with a programmable mobile device, such as a cell phone, smart phone or multimedia phone, or a tablet computer, such as an iPad® tablet. The invention will work with any such mobile device, as long as it is portable, has a display, a real-time clock and a programmable processor that can be programmed by software that can read the clock time and generate alerts on the display for review by the user. Preferably the mobile device also has an input means, such as a touchscreen or keypad, such that the software can display, or render, menus that may include on-screen buttons or identifiers for softkeys that the user can touch or press to respond to prompts from the software. Preferably the mobile device also has a speaker that can be controlled by software running on the processor to produce audible alerts at specific times.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 which depicts a mobile device, specifically a cell phone or smart phone, such as an iPhone®, with a display 102, speaker 106 and microphone 105 in use with the invention. The invention is a medication management system including a case 101 that encases, covers, or attaches to, the mobile device, with a pill container 103 attached to the case, and software for execution by the mobile device to manage the use of medication, generally in the form of pills, by the user of the mobile device.

In general the software provides instructions to the user on when to take doses of pills according to a dosing schedule programmed into the software by the user, and assists the user in filling the pill container 103. A dose of pills is a group of pills to be taken at or around the same time, and may be a single pill or a plurality of pills, which may include multiple pills of the same kind and/or multiple types of pills.

The case 101 has no electronic connection to the mobile device. Generally the case 101 operates to cover or protect a mobile device as do prior art phone and tablet computer cases. In order to use the invention, the user must first load the software onto the mobile device and place the mobile device in the case. For example, the case 101 may be designed to allow the mobile device to slide in one end, or the top portion of the case 101 may flip up, or be removable, to allow the mobile device to be placed in the case 101. Loading of the software may be done via a website that the user accesses via a browser on the mobile device where the user can select and load software for the specific model of mobile device, or may be done from a personal computer via a wired or wireless connection between the computer and mobile device.

A similar connection or more automated solution, such as a scanner, may be used to enter the medication information into the device.

The case 101 may be made using any materials normally used for smart phone cases, but a rigid or semi-rigid plastic or composite material is preferred. The pill container 103 is preferably made of a rigid material, and the case is adapted to permit the pill container 103 to slide in and out of the case 101 so that the pill container 103 can be pushed fully into the case 101, with no compartments exposed, where it is held in position by a locking mechanism that prevents the pill container 103 from sliding out from the case 101, unless the user purposely slides it out, when the mobile device is in use in any orientation under normal use conditions.

The locking mechanism is designed so that a user may purposely slide the pill container 103 out from the case 101 by applying force to the pill container 103 with the fingers of one hand in a direction away from the case 101 while the case 101 is, for example, held with the user's other hand to apply a countervailing force. Such locking mechanisms are well known in the art, and may rely entirely on friction to lock or hold the pill container 103 in place in the fully inserted position.

The case 101 and software are specific to each model of mobile device, although the same embodiment of a case may be used for physically similar models, and the same embodiment of the software may be used for models with similar processors. Differences between models with the same processors may be handled by using different versions of the software, or by having the software configurable based on the features of the mobile device, such as the display size and resolution, sound generation capabilities, and orientation sensors. The size of the pill container 103 and number of compartments 104 in the pill container 103 may also vary by model of mobile device, depending on the length and width of the mobile device.

In this description, the terms “medication” and “pill” include any items in tablet, capsule or other solid form intended for use by a person, such as by oral administration. Such pills may include a medicament to treat, prevent or alleviate the symptoms of disease or otherwise treat the user, such as analgesics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, birth control medication, beta blockers, etc. Such pills may also contain materials, such as vitamins, minerals and herbs, intended to condition or improve the health of the user.

Such medication is typically prescribed to be taken by a patient, or user, according to a dosing regimen. For example, two of pill A may need to be taken daily in the morning, pill B twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening, and pill C three times a day after meals. Some pills may need to be taken daily for a specific number of days, which may need to be repeated indefinitely after not taking the pills for some number of days. For example, one type of birth control pill may need to be taken daily for 21 days, and then not taken for 7 days, with the 28 day cycle repeated indefinitely.

Based on the requirements for each medication, a schedule is established for dictating when to take which pills. For example, it may be decided that at 8:00 a.m. the user should take a dose of pills consisting of two of pill A, one of pill B and one of pill C, then at 1:30 p.m. a dose of pills consisting of one of pill C, and then at 8:00 p.m. a dose of pills consisting of one of pill B and one of pill C. The software provides a user interface to allow the user to enter information about each medication he or she is taking so that the software may construct a schedule, such as the one just described, and allow the user to edit it. The user may open a medication management screen by pushing a designated button presented or indicated by the software. The medication management screen may then have options for viewing and editing the medication schedule, adding a medication, deleting a medication, or modifying the dosage regimen for a medication. In this manner the user programs a dosing schedule into the software.

When adding a medication, the software allows the user to enter the number of pills to be taken at specific times in a day. The user may specify that the taking of the pills is tied to some specific event, such as having to be taken within 30 minutes after a meal. The user may also specify on which days the medication is to be taken, such as every day, every other day, or 21 days on, 7 days off, for example. Based on this information, the software may construct a dosing schedule, such as that described above for pills A, B, and C. The software may allow the user to enter specific times for each medication or give the user the option to specify, for example, “morning”, “afternoon” or “evening”. Based on this input, the software may construct a schedule to minimize the number of times a day the user must take doses of pills, so that as many pills as possible are taken at the same time.

If the user determines that the dose of pills scheduled to be taken at a particular time will not fit into a single compartment of the pill container 103, the user may instruct the software to split the dose of pills into multiple doses, to be taken at the same time. When the user adds a medication, deletes a medication or modifies the dosing regimen for a medication so that the dosing schedule changes, the software may prompt the user to take a new photograph of the filled pill container 103, as discussed below.

A pharmacist may assist the user in entering medication information and setting up or modifying the dosing schedule, either through connecting the device to a computer that automatically transmits the dosing information to the device, or by manually programming it.

The software running on the mobile device then facilitates adhering to the dosage schedule by sounding an audible alarm and/or displaying a visual message on the display 102 when it is time to take the next dose of pills according to the dosing schedule.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the pill container 103 is attached to the case 101 so that the pill container 103 slideably engages the case 101 below the mobile device, where the mobile device is in the top part of the case 101 so that the display 102 on the top side of the mobile device is visible through an opening in, or a transparent portion of, the top side of the case 101. The case 101 has a longitudinal, or X, axis 107, a transverse, or Y, axis, 108, and a Z axis (not shown) perpendicular to the X and Y axes. The pill container 103 shown in FIG. 1 is rectangular in cross-sections parallel to the X-Y, Y-Z, and X-Z planes, although this is not necessary. For example some of the edges could be rounded. The pill container 103 may have solid side walls, end walls and bottom wall and be open at the top, where the top side corresponds to the side of the mobile device having the display in the X-Y plane. The pill container 103 may also have a number of dividers parallel to the Y-Z plane, spaced apart along the length of the pill container 103 to form compartments 104. The compartments 104 are adapted to hold doses of pills placed in the pill container 103 by the user.

As depicted in FIG. 2, the compartments 201, 202, 203 may coded, for example using a different color for each compartment.

In general the first dose of pills to be taken, or used, will be put in the outermost compartment 203, the dose to be taken next in the adjacent compartment 202, the dose to be taken after that in the next compartment 201, etc. So in the example given above, two of pill A, one of pill B and one of pill C would be placed in the outermost compartment 203, one of pill C in the next compartment 202, and of one of pill B and one of pill C in the next compartment 201. With the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a dose of pills may be removed from the first compartment containing a dose of pills by sliding the pill container 103 out from the case 101 until the compartment is fully visible outside of the case 101, or exposed, and then turning the case 101 and mobile device over so that the bottom of the case 401 is facing upwards and the openings of the compartments are oriented downward, as depicted in FIG. 4, to cause the dose of pills in the exposed compartment to pass through the opening of the compartment, falling downward in the direction depicted by the arrow 402, and, for example, into the hand of the user not being used to hold the case 101. In this manner, doses of pills can be taken sequentially from the outermost compartment 203, proceeding to each adjacent compartment in turn.

Before leaving his or her residence, the user fills the pill container 103 by filling the first N compartments, starting from the outermost compartment 203, with the doses of pills corresponding to the dosing schedule programmed into the software, where N is the number of doses of pills required to be taken according to the dosing schedule while the user is away from his or her residence, up to the total number of compartments. To support extended dosage sequences, the pill container 103 may be made to be removable and have lids that snap or flip on and off each compartment. Then the user may prepare multiple pill containers 103, numbered to indicate their order so that when all the doses of pills from one container have been taken, it is removed and the next pill container 103 is put into the case 101.

As shown in FIG. 3, when it is time to take a dose of pills, the software may display a message on the display 102, such as “Take these pills now” 304, and may display a representation of the pill container 103 on the display 102 with an indication of which compartment the dose of pills to be taken are held in. By having the compartments coded, the display can replicate the coding so it is clear from which compartment the dose of pills is to be taken. For example, in FIG. 2 if compartment 203 is red, 202 is blue and 201 is green, then in the representation of the pill container 103 shown on the display in FIG. 3, compartment 303 would be red, 302 blue and 301 green. A status indication may also be displayed, for example to show that the dose of pills in compartment 303 has been taken, the dose of pills in compartment 302 has been missed, and the dose of pills in compartment 304 is to be taken now. An example of this is depicted in FIG. 5

The software may at the same time display buttons, such as “taken” and “take later”, for the user to either confirm that he or she has taken the dose of pills, or to defer taking the pills for a period, similar to the “snooze” function on an alarm clock. In the example screen shown in FIG. 5, the software displays the message “Took pills already?” and displays “Yes” and “Ignore” buttons 502, which are equivalent to “taken” and “take later” buttons. If a requirement for taking the dose of pills in association with some event has been entered into the schedule, the software may first ask the user to confirm that the event has occurred before instructing the user to take the dose of pills. For example, the software may bring up a yes/no pair of buttons with the question “have you eaten lunch yet?” If the user enters “yes”, the software may proceed to instruct the user to take the dose of pills, but if the answer is no, the software may wait for some period, such as 30 minutes or some duration programmable by the user, before asking the user again if he or she has eaten lunch.

For phones that have gyroscopic or other orientation sensors, the software may determine that the pill container 103 has been moved so that the openings of the compartments are oriented downward, as depicted in FIG. 4, to cause a dose of pills to pass through the opening in an exposed compartment containing the dose of pills. The message asking the user to take the dose of pills may then be replaced with text asking whether the user took the pills with buttons corresponding, for example, to “yes” and “not yet”.

The software may also assist the user in ensuring that required medication is stored in the pill container 103. For example, after all doses have been taken, or the time to take them all has passed, the software may display a message telling the user to refill the pill container 103. The user may be able to set this message to appear at a certain time each day, such as at 11:00 p.m. before bed, or at 6:00 a.m. after the user has awoken, if the pill container is empty, or possibly if the software determines that there are not enough doses in the pill container 103 to cover the following day.

To facilitate refilling of the pill container 103 when using the invention with a mobile device having a camera, the software may further have the capability of using photographs of filled pill containers 103 to show the user which pills go in which compartments. To facilitate this, the user fills the pill container 103 with the doses of pills as instructed by the software according to the dosing schedule and then takes a photograph of the filled pill container 103 detached from the case 101. The software may instruct the user to take photographs of multiple configurations of doses of pills, to account for variations in dosing regimens of individual medications (e.g. where one pill is only taken every other day). Such an embodiment of the invention employs a removable pill container 103, and may also employ a separate dedicated tripod on which the mobile device may be placed at a fixed distance from the detached pill container 103 that is placed below the lens of a camera in the mobile device. The software may then extract the portions of the resulting photograph(s) showing the individual filled compartments and display those portions over the corresponding portions of a depiction of the pill container 103 shown in the display 102, such as that shown in FIG. 3, in accordance with the dosing schedule. After reminding the user that it is time to fill the pill container 103, the software may display a button marked, for example, “show pill configuration” and if the user pushes it then the software will display a representation of the pill container 103 with each compartment showing the appropriate portion of the photograph(s) for that day.

Similarly when a representation of the pill container 103 is displayed when it is time to take a dose of pills, or when the user checks the status of the pill container 103, the software may display the appropriate portion of the photograph(s) showing the dose of pills in each compartment that has pills in it.

Each compartment of the pill container 103 has a status that is reset when the user fills or refills the pill container 103 with the doses of pills required by the dosing schedule. When the pill container 103 is filled, the status of each compartment containing a dose of pills is set to “to be taken”, and the status of compartments without pills is set to “not in use”. When the time for taking a dose of pills in a compartment arrives, the status of that compartment becomes “take now”. This status is maintained for some period, which may depend on the nature of the medication and be defined as part of the schedule set-up process, or may be a preset duration, such as two hours. Once that duration has passed without the user taking the dose of pills in the compartment, the status of the compartment becomes “missed”. If the dose of pills is taken, the status becomes “taken”. Changing the status of a compartment to “to be taken” or “taken” is done based on user input to the user interface of the software via the display and/or phone controls, such as a touch screen, keypad or keyboard.

Upon request of the user, the software may display the status of each compartment on the display. The software may allow the user to select a particular compartment and change its status, for example to indicate that the dose of pills in that compartment was taken. The status may be indicated visually also by, for example, dimming the displayed representation of compartments that are “taken” or “not in use” and blinking or otherwise highlighting a compartment whose status is “take now”. The status may also be shown when prompting a user to take pills. For example, FIG. 5 shows a depiction of the pill container 503 on the display 102 of the mobile device, where the user is being prompted 502 to take the dose of pills in the third compartment 501. The status for the second compartment 504 is shown to be “Missed” so that the user is made aware that those pills are still in the pill container 103 in the second compartment, but that he or she should take the pills in the third compartment 501. In the case shown in FIG. 5, the dose of pills in the first compartment has been taken so the software shows its status as “Taken” 505.

The software may also record the user's history of taking medication and provide a function to display the history on the display 102. This may include a chronological history, or summarize the percentage of doses of pills that were taken and missed in specified time ranges. The software may further include a capability to specify authorized persons to who the user's medication history is transmitted. This may be done by email or via a social networking site, such as Facebook or Twitter.

The case may be a protective case that surrounds all or substantially all of the exterior surfaces of the mobile device, for example with a transparent portion corresponding to the location of the display 102, or it may surround only portions of the phone not including the display, speaker, microphone and controls, such as the keypad or keyboard and volume controls. Alternatively it could be a cosmetic case that covers part of the mobile device. In other embodiments, the case 101 could be designed to snap onto the bottom, or back, and/or sides of the mobile device.

Although the pill container 103 is depicted in the figures as being relatively narrow, this is not intended to limit the invention. The pill container 103 may be very wide in some embodiments, and may approach the width of the case, to facilitate the taking of a large number of pills as a single dose of pills.

Throughout this description, the term “user” may refer to one or more people, one of whom is the patient who ultimately takes the doses of pills. For example, in the sequence of events in the use of the invention:

-   -   a. loading the software onto the mobile device:     -   b. placing the mobile device into the case;     -   c. programming a dosing schedule into the software;     -   d. filling the pill container with doses of pills according to         the dosing schedule;     -   e. removing a dose of pills indicated by the software from the         pill container;     -   f. taking, or using, the dose of pills; and     -   g. confirming to the software by pressing a button shown on the         display that the dose of pills has been taken,         the steps (a) to (g) may be performed by multiple “users”. For         example, step (a) may be performed by a technician, step (b) by         a salesperson, step (c) by a health care provider or pharmacist,         step (d) by a member of the patient's family, step (e) by a         person accompanying the patient on an outing, step (f) by the         patient, and step (g) by another person accompanying the patient         on an outing. While performing the indicated task, each of these         people is a “user”. In another scenario, all steps may be         performed by the patient.

Although the example embodiments described herein refer to a pill container 103 that is slideably attached to the cases 101 and slides away from the case in the longitudinal direction along the X axis 107, the invention is not so limited. For example, the pill container could slide in the transverse direction, along the Y axis 108. The pill container could also be attached to the case 101 by a hinge so that the full container could be swung out from behind the case 101. In such embodiments the compartments in the pill container may have lids or covers so that the user can open only the one compartment containing the dose of pills to be taken and then turn the mobile device over to take the dose of pills out of the compartment.

The pill container could also be powered, e.g. by AAA batteries, so that by pushing a button on the case, the next compartment is exposed, and by pushing another button on the case, the pill container is retracted fully into the case.

It is also not essential that the pill container be attached to the back of the case below the mobile device. For example, in some embodiments it may be preferable to locate the pill container on one side of the mobile device so as to minimize the thickness of the case.

It will be clear to skilled person that the programmable processor referred to herein could consist of one or multiple computer processors programmable by software, which could take the form of firmware or microcode.

Such software is a sequence of bits comprising encoded executable instructions for the processor which interprets the encoded instructions and thereby runs the software to perform the functions of the invention as described herein. Such software is generally stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or memory, or storage means, such as: hard disk drives; semiconductor devices such as read-only memories, random access memories, flash memories and solid state drives, and optical storage means such as CDs and DVDs. The invention transforms the physical object that is the user's mobile device by causing it to display information, images and menus. The storage of the software on a computer-readable memory also transforms the memory to a different state by making physical changes to the memory, which changes encode the sequence of bits representing the software.

The foregoing description illustrates only certain preferred embodiments of the invention. The invention is not limited to the foregoing examples. That is, persons skilled in the art will appreciate and understand that modifications and variations are, or will be, possible to utilize and carry out the teachings of the invention described herein. Accordingly, all suitable modifications, variations and equivalents may be resorted to, and such modifications, variations and equivalents are intended to fall within the scope of the invention as described and within the scope of the claims. 

1. A medication management system for managing the use of pills by a user of a programmable mobile device, the mobile device having a display, the system comprising: a. a case for the programmable mobile device; b. a pill container attached to the case for holding doses of pills; and c. software for execution by the mobile device to manage the use of the pills by the user.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the software running on the mobile device causes the mobile device to alert the user when it is time to take a dose of pills held in the pill container.
 3. The system of claim 2 wherein alerting the user comprises displaying a message on the display of the mobile device indicating which dose of pills held in the pill container the user should take.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein the software renders on the display a menu to request that the user confirm that the dose of pills has been taken.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the user may program a dosing schedule into the software running on the mobile device and the software causes the mobile device to alert the user when it is time to take a dose of pills held in the pill container according to the dosing schedule.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein the mobile device is a smart phone.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein the mobile device is a tablet computer.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein the pill container has a top side corresponding to a side of the mobile device having the display, and the pill container comprises a plurality of compartments, each compartment being adapted to hold a dose of pills and having an opening on the top side to allow the user to place pills in the compartments and remove pills from the compartments.
 9. The system of claim 8 wherein each dose of pills comprises at least one pill containing a medicament.
 10. The system of claim 8 wherein the pill container slideably engages the case so that the pill container may be slid away from the case to expose one dose of pills when at least one compartment contains a dose of pills.
 11. The system of claim 8 wherein each compartment is coded and, when it is time for the user to take a dose of pills, the software renders on the display a representation of the compartments and their coding, with an indication of which compartment the dose of pills is to be taken from.
 12. The system of claim 8 wherein the software employs a photograph of the pill container filled with doses of pills to assist the user in refilling the pill container.
 13. The system of claim 11 wherein each compartment is color-coded.
 14. The system of claim 8 wherein the software displays an indication of the status of each compartment on the display upon request of the user.
 15. The system of claim 8 wherein the mobile device has an orientation sensor for determining that the pill container has been moved so that the openings of the compartments are oriented downward, and the software automatically renders on the display a menu to request that the user confirm that the dose of pills has been taken.
 16. A method of using a medication management system for managing the use of pills by a user of a programmable mobile device, the mobile device having a display, the system comprising: a. a case for the programmable mobile device; b. a pill container attached to the case for holding doses of pills; and c. software for execution by the mobile device to manage the use of the pills by the user, the software having been loaded onto the mobile device, the mobile device having been placed into the case, the method comprising the steps of: d. programming a dosing schedule into the software; e. filling the pill container with doses of pills according to the dosing schedule; f. removing a dose of pills indicated by the software from the pill container; g. taking the indicated dose of pills; and h. confirming to the software that the dose of pills has been taken. 